Delaware landmark to reopen 2 years after Sandy

Jim Fonash (right), owner of the Charlesworth Hotel and Restaurant in Fortescue, and volunteer Dylan Gentile, 18, a student at Vineland High School, set up a dining room table in preparation of a New Year’s Eve reopening.(Photo: Staff photo/Charles J. Olson)Buy Photo

DOWNE – After the extensive damage it suffered from superstorm Sandy’s wrath two years ago, the Charlesworth Hotel and Restaurant was considered a goner to many of its longtime customers and even its owners.

But the 90-year-old landmark establishment — considered by many as a beacon of the region’s storm recovery movement — was set to finally reopen its doors to the public Wednesday with a night of celebration and hope that the Delaware Bayshore’s communities will fully rebound someday.

“The Charlesworth, I think, is certainly one of those cornerstones of the bayshore recovery,” said Jim Fonash, who co-owns the Fortescue business with his wife, Shirley. “It’s certainly not because we reopened that the bayshore has recovered, but it is a step in the right direction. We’re hoping that more can be done. We’re hoping that people can have a renewed interest in the bayshore.”

With a set guest list of 100 customers, the seasonal restaurant and hotel on New Jersey Avenue planed to open its doors for one night only, on New Year’s Eve, until it reopens again in the spring.

“This is the first step of coming back into the public,” Fonash said. “We’re making progress.”

Bayshore advocate Meghan Wren, who led volunteer efforts to renovate the business and other projects in coastal communities, were expected to be among the 100 dining here Wednesday night.

“It’s very exciting,” she said. “It’s an iconic property on the bayshore. It’s a place where people can come to eat and celebrate the bay and enjoy the view.”

There was such a demand, Fonash noted, that reservations hit the Charlesworth’s 100-person capacity within hours of the event being publicized on the restaurant’s Facebook page.

“Everyone we’ve talked to is excited to come back and see it,” Fonash said. “They’re very happy that we’re making a comeback.”

It almost didn’t come to this.

“We have really seriously thought about tearing it down,” Fonash said, noting he and his wife talked with a demolition company at one point. “But people kept saying: ‘Give it a chance, let’s try to come back. We don’t want to lose it, just hang in there. Once it’s torn down, it can’t be replaced.’”

The reopening marks a culmination of months of dedicated volunteer work to restore the beloved business.

While the Fonashes were largely ignored by state and federal agencies immediately following the knockout blow dealt by Superstorm Sandy in October 2012 — it destroyed a protective bulkhead, sending crashing waves through the restaurant’s dining room — the couple saw renewed attention this year.

A $50,000 loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration and a $50,000 grant from the New Jersey Economic Development Authority kicked restoration efforts into high gear in September.

Several community organizations and citizen groups descended on the coastal resort throughout the fall to help clean up leftover damage from the storm and get the historic restaurant and hotel up and running again.

Volunteers replaced the protective bulkhead, helped move 70 truckloads of sand back in place and removed a damaged deck.

Wren and others said they see the restoration of the business as an integral part in the bayshore’s rebirth.

“It’s very important for the bayshore’s future,” she said. “I think it’s a really positive rallying point.”

Fonash said he’s more than thankful.

“To our volunteers, I can only say thank you from the bottom of our hearts,” he said. “It’s just been tremendous.”

Volunteers felt a sense of urgency when they were told the state grant had several stipulations, including one that called for the business to reopen by the end of the year.

“This (opening) is sort of last-minute, but it fulfills that requirement,” Fonash said. “We figured we could hold around 100 people or so.”

Other stipulations of the grant included a request for the owners not to use the ground floor of the building (luckily not a problem for the Fonashes, considering they have always used it for storage anyway), and calls for making the entrance handicap-accessible, which Fonash said the couple will look into in 2015.

Fonash said he and his wife plan to sit down with architects to decide on a builder for that portion of the project in the months ahead, and also look at other grants to help offset the cost.

Other work planned for 2015 includes restoring the outdoor deck, additional siding and other cosmetic improvements. And then there’s the matter of the upstairs — the building’s hotel portion — which is on the third floor.

Although undamaged from Sandy, the hotel floor likely will need to be touched up before it can be open for business in the spring.

The Charlesworth also will prepare to hire a 14-member staff in the coming months, as well.

“We’re just taking it one step at a time right now,” Fonash said.

The restaurant won’t be fully open until April, with limited engagements before the spring season including Valentine’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day.

“We haven’t figured out what we’re doing after the first of the year,” Fonash said. “We’re talking to customers to see what they want.”

But visitors on the guest list Wednesday — mainly volunteers and longtime customers — know what to expect when they walk through the familiar beachside stairway entrance.

A charming, 20-table dining room that overlooks the scenic Delaware Bay has been fully restored and is ready to meet customers’ expectations of a fine dining experience on the bay.

“We’ve gotten to the point where the inside of the restaurant has been redone as much as we can,” Fonash said.

Jim Fonash will be in the kitchen cooking up well-known favorites such as mushroom-stuffed deviled crab and homemade Charlesworth rolls, while Shirley Fonash will greet customers as they walk through the door.

Downe Township Mayor Bob Campbell will be out of town Wednesday night, but said he’s thrilled to see his community’s beloved restaurant return to shape.

“The Charlesworth has always been a hub of activity for the town,” Campbell said. “The fact that they’re opening back up, I’m excited about it. They have done an incredible job.”